Chris Conner gives Griffins early offensive boost

GRAND RAPIDS -- Coach Curt Fraser had a hunch during the preseason that veteran forward Chris Conner would wind up with the Grand Rapids Griffins instead of the parent club Detroit Red Wings, but he couldn't be 100 percent sure.

Fraser was ecstatic when the speedy right winger was assigned to Grand Rapids on Oct. 4 -- and subsequently cleared waivers -- and it's easy to see why.

Conner set up two goals in the Griffins' 3-2 win against the Toronto Marlies on Friday night in the 2011-12 home opener at Van Andel Arena.

Through two games this season, he already has three assists.

"We're very, very fortunate to have him here with us," Fraser said. "We look forward to watching this kid all year long. He's going to get better and better and better."

That could mean Conner eventually gets another crack at the NHL. The Livonia native has appeared in 139 NHL games over the past five seasons with Dallas and Pittsburgh. Last year, he had seven goals and nine assists in 60 games with Pittsburgh, and appeared in all seven postseason games in the Penguins' first-round loss to Tampa Bay.

He might have had a better shot at returning to the NHL with another team, but a deep roster didn't turn him off to the Red Wings.

"I think they're a great organization. I was honored to be a part of it," Conner said. "I want to be challenged and do whatever I can to get to the next level."

He's off to a good start, skating on a line with Gustav Nyquist and Joakim Andersson.

Against Toronto, Conner fed Nyquist for a goal that gave the Griffins a 2-1 lead with 3.6 seconds remaining in the first period. Conner then made a beautiful backfeed to a charging Doug Janik, who buried a shot past Marlies goaltender Ben Scrivens just 15 seconds into the third to make it 3-1.

"I think we've got some good chemistry so far, finding each other down low and they're both (Conner and Andersson) great players," Nyquist said. "It's been fun."

Conner did acknowledge that it's a little strange being a veteran on a team filled with young talent, but he's encouraged by how the Griffins are starting to come together.

"It's still early and I think we've got room for improvement, but we've definitely got some good signs of good leadership and a great group of young guys," he said. "That's all you can ask for."

Conner was happy to see the Griffins grind out a home victory before it embarks on a five-game road trip. He praised the play of goaltender Joey MacDonald, who made several key stops down the stretch to seal the win.

"It's early in the year, but it's good to win games like that, holding on to the lead and finish it off," Conner said. "I thought Joey played a great game for us back there. He made some big saves at the end to help us out there."

He also was impressed with the soldout crowd of 10,834, the 16th consecutive year that the Griffins played to a capacity crowd in its first home game.

"I love it here, the fans are great," Conner said. "It's a great atmosphere, and most important I think we've got a great group of guys here. We're going to play hard and play strong."